An endless abrasive belt comprises a continuous backing which may be of plastic, paper, cloth or any other suitable material having an abrasive material bonded on one surface. Endless coated abrasive belts that have widths greater than 36 cm (14 inches) are referred to as "wide belts".
Wide belts having a width of 127 cm (50 inches) are commonly used in leveling surfaces in lumber planing and particle board and plywood finishing. Several of those endless coated abrasive belts are wrapped together in a coil by the manufacturer and placed in one carton, and several of such cartons are stacked on a pallet and sent to the user who removes the belts from the cartons as they are needed. If a discontinuity is formed in the belt by the belt being cut, creased, kinked, crinkled, cracked or damaged in any other way, that discontinuity can cause an imperfection on an abraded workpiece, such as a deep scratch on a wood workpiece which is accented if the wood is stained.
Due to the relatively long length and wide width of wide abrasive belts, they are difficult to handle and it is common for an operator to accidentally damage a belt, particularly along its edges, while the belt is being removed from a carton.
Known prior art cartons in which such wide abrasive belts are shipped to a user can either only be opened from an end or can only be opened from a side or "top". When cartons that can only be opened from a side or "top" are stored in a stack, a user must remove all the cartons above a desired carton in the stack in order to open it, which can be difficult since a carton full of such endless wide belts can weigh about seventy pounds.
Similarly, removing belts from cartons that can only be opened from an end that are located on a floor or a worktable is difficult for a single workman, and typically requires a second workman to hold the carton while the coil of abrasive belts is slid longitudinally from the carton. If a workman attempts to open a side of an end opening carton or the end of a side opening carton with a hand knife or box cutter, the knife or box cutter could damage the belts. Such difficulties in removing wide abrasive belts from known cartons increases the possibility that a wide belt will be damaged by a workman.